Do I need to finish the course within a certain time?

What does the course cost?

I live in the USA, UK, Ireland, Australia, Canada, Borneo etc. Is the course suitable for me?

Yes. We have students in 28 countries.

How can I contact my tutor or the Blackford Centre?

There have two types of people you can contact - your tutor and a course advisor. The tutor marks your work, and helps you with any problems. You can fax, email or post assignments to your tutor, whenever you want.

We don't give out the tutor's phone number, because a few people would spend all day talking to their tutors, who would never get any work done.

But sometimes students get stuck, or have an urgent question. If so, you can phone a course advisor at the Blackford Centre at any time during work hours. If you leave a message out of work hours we'll call you back the next day. You can contact course advisors as often as you want.

Is the course accredited or endorsed?

Our course has been endorsed under the ABC Awards' Quality Licence Scheme. This means that we have undergone an external quality check to ensure that our organisation and the courses it offers, meet certain quality criteria. ABC Awards' endorsement involves a robust and rigorous quality audit by external inspectors to ensure quality is consistently met. A regular review of courses is carried out as part of the endorsement process. To this end the learning outcomes of the course have been benchmarked at Level 4 Award against level descriptors published by Ofqual, to indicate the depth of study and level of difficulty involved in successful completion by the learner.

ABC Awards is a leading national Awarding Organisation, regulated by Ofqual and the Welsh Government. They have a comprehensive portfolio of over 650 Ofqual regulated qualifications on the national Qualifications and Credit framework (QCF). It has a long-established reputation for developing and awarding high quality vocational qualifications across a wide range of industries.

At the end of this course successful learners will receive a Certificate of Achievement by ABC Awards and a Learner Unit Summary (which lists the details of all the units you have completed as part of your course).

Will the course give me credits towards a degree or some other study?

No. But it will help you get work as a mediator or set up your own mediation practice. And we encourage all students to continue their studies after completing the course.

Can I become a family mediator with this course?

To become a mediator in the UK family courts, you need to have successfully completed a course recognised by the Family Mediation Council (www.familymediationcouncil.org.uk). We have not currently applied for recognition. However, if you’re starting out in mediation, this course is a good place to begin. It will give you an introduction to family mediation as well as all the other types of dispute resolution. Remember that much family mediation occurs outside the courts.

When can I do the course?

Can I start the course at any time?

Yes.

Where can I study the course?

Is the course all from home, or do I have to go to a test centre?

It's all from home.

How does this course compare with a 2- or 5-day classroom course?

Interaction: A classroom-type course allows for live interaction between students, which is invaluable. However, the costs and the fees of a live environment are therefore higher. We provide a Buddy system that allows you to practise mediation with other students.

Length: In our experience, a 2- or 5-day course isn’t long enough to give you sufficient depth of knowledge. Our learners typically take five months to complete the course, and we know that the questions they ask after five months are quite different from those they pose in the first five days.

If you look at the link called ‘What does the Course Cover?’ to the left of this FAQ page, you’ll see the wide range of topics that we believe can’t be covered adequately in five days.

Ease of understanding: A classroom course is easier to do than a distance learning course, because it’s a dedicated time and space, with no distractions. Also, you mostly just sit and listen, and then do some practise with another student.

With home-study, you must be sufficiently self-disciplined to complete your assignments over the length of the course. That means it isn’t for everyone.

Flexibility: Home-study allows you to learn at times and place that suit your personal needs, not those of the course providers. And because there’s no time limit, you can take as long as you want to complete the course.

Your own experience: Someone with no experience of negotiation, mediation or the law will probably find a classroom course an easier option. Anyone who has seen mediation in practice, or who has negotiated in a work or family environment may find that home-study offers a more detailed and ultimately more rewarding experience.

Employment: The Blackford Centre’s course aims to help you get employment (or self-employment) in mediation. It’s an important focus that other courses don’t always have. As part of this goal, we provide three months’ free business mentoring when you complete the course.

Summary: We believe that home-study offers better value for money and flexibility. But it won’t suit everyone.

How can I be sure that you're legitimate, and that you won't disappear with my money?

Here are some answers we hope will reassure you.

We've been in operation since 1995; so we're very established.

We publish our physical address at the bottom of each page - and you are welcome to visit us.

We're audited by ABC twice a year (you can phone them to verify they do that).

You can read the Reviews of our students on the web site.

You can ask us for the contact details of former students who will talk to you about their experiences.